Department of History of Religions aims examining the religions all over the world from past to present. Its main research areas Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism as well as Jainism Sikhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, Zoroastrianism, Mandaeans and Manicheism. The program analyzes the historical development of religions with respect to their origins, formations, articles of faith, acts of worship, and ethical principles by using both historical and comparative perspectives. The inclusive nature of the field necessitates a systematic collaboration between History of Religions and other human sciences, such as History, Phenomenology of Religion, Sociology of Religion, Psychology of Religion, Philosophy of Religion and especially Philology, due to being deciphered religious scriptures through philological examination. The program also makes use of the fields such as Mythology, Ethnology, Archeology, History of Arts, Folklore, etc. Students who graduate from program are able to explain the basic concepts of History of Religions deeply, to consider the relevant literature, to study sacred texts by using classical language, to share information about History of Religions verbal or written at the national/international level and to carry out a study which requiring expertise. Hilmi Ömer Budda, Annemarie Schimmel, Hikmet Tanyu, Mehmet Taplamacıoğlu, Günay Tümer, Mehmet Aydın, Abdurrahman Küçük, and Mustafa Erdem are among the well-known professors who have contributed to the enrichment of the Department.
Members of this department are as follows:
Prof. Ahmet Hikmet EROĞLU (Head of Department)
Prof. Mustafa ERDEM
Prof. Baki ADAM
Prof. Mehmet KATAR
Prof. Ali İsra GÜNGÖR
Prof. Durmuş ARIK
Assoc. Prof. Yasin MERAL
Assoc. Prof. Cemil KUTLUTÜRK
Assist. Prof. Şahin KIZILABDULLAH
Res. Asst. Canan KURTKAYASI
Res. Asst. Mustafa GÜRE
Res. Asst. Arzu YILDIZ
Res. Asst. Arif GÖREN
Res. Asst. Adnan GÜNEŞ
Res. Asst. Ömer GÜLEN
Res. Asst. İbrahim Emre ŞAMLIOĞLU
Res. Asst. Mukadder SİPAHİOĞLU